The best carols in cathedrals this Christmas

All over the UK, cathedral choirs are preparing to deliver exquisite concerts of Christmas music. One of the most constant and best-loved traditions is The Nine Lessons and Carols service at King’s College, Cambridge, on Christmas Eve. Started in 1918, and first broadcast in 1928, it always opens with Once in Royal David’s City and, since Stephen Cleobury became musical director in 1982, features a new carol, this year a setting of Christina Rossetti’s poem Christmas Eve composed by Tansy Davies, whose music is described as ‘impossible to pigeonhole’.

Usually, anyone joining the queue before 9am will gain admission, but it is not guaranteed. The queue is admitted at 1.30pm and the service, which is broadcast live on Radio 4 and again on Christmas Day at 2pm on Radio 3, starts at 3pm. For information, telephone 01223 331100 or visit www.kingscam.ac.uk.

The nine lessons and carols structure, begun in 1880 by E. W. Benson, later the Archbishop of Canterbury, when he was Bishop of Truro, has been adopted by several cathedrals. Many services are free, but some are ticketed and become oversubscribed, so check the website first.